1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capsule-type medical apparatus which is introduced into a subject to collect information inside the subject, particularly to a capsule endoscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is known a capsule-type medical apparatus (swallowing type endoscope for medical use) which can take images of alimentary systems such as the stomach to collect the information on the inside of the body cavity by introducing the capsule-type medical apparatus from a mouth into a body cavity. The conventional capsule-type medical apparatus provided as a container which accommodates internal components is stored in a package. A permanent magnet is placed in the package, and the container is arranged close to the permanent magnet by accommodating the container in the package. As a result, the capsule-type medical apparatus becomes a halt state in which all electric power supply to the electrical elements in the container are suppressed by a magnetic field of the permanent magnet. When the container is taken out from the package to separate the container away from the permanent magnet, the influence of the magnetic field of the permanent magnet is released to supply the electric power to the electrical elements in the container (for example, see International Publication WO 01/35813).
In the conventional capsule-type medical apparatus, an illumination unit (light-emitting diode) and an objective lens are fixed in a front portion, and a main block to which a circuit board is fixed and an exterior cover in which the main block is accommodated are located in a rear portion. An image sensor, an image sensor control electric component, a transmission electric component, a power switch, and the like are mounted on a circuit board, and an antenna board is connected to the circuit board. A battery is incorporated into the circuit board. The exterior cover includes a hemispherical transparent cover and a cylindrical cover. The front portion of the main block is covered with the hemispherical transparent cover, and the rear portion of the main block is covered with the cylindrical cover. A rear-end portion of the cylindrical cover is formed in a hemispherical shape. The circuit board is fixed to the main block, the main block is accommodated in the exterior cover, and the transparent cover and the cylindrical cover are bonded in a watertight manner to assemble the capsule-type medical apparatus (for example, see JP-A No. 2001-91860 (KOKAI)).